Abstract
M.Ed.
The study was aimed at establishing an effective pastoral care management system for independent schools. It developed out of the concern for the many children who pass through schools without having any form of meaningful discussion with an adult member of the school, thus the concept "the invisible child". All students attend school for the academic education it provides. But for many there is more to school than what goes on in the classroom. However many will not have their broader education developed, their social, emotional and personal development will be ignored or overlooked. With higher incidence of divorce and other family trauma, students need to be mentally at ease if they are to get the most out of their classroom activities. Their social, emotional and personal life needs to be in order to allow their mind to focus on the academic pursuits offered in class. The research esign and method involved the qualitative approach and the case study. Qualitative research was used, as it was best suited to the emotive nature of the student's experiences. The research focused on a case study, namely an independent school. Data was collected through a literature study and personal interviews with students. The data was analysed to identify common themes and categories. Two main themes emerged from the interview data: the Tutor and the Tutor Group. Combining these with the literature, four main categories emerged. They are: the goals of the pastoral care policy, the aims and organisation of the house, the house/tutor period and its objectives, and the role of the house tutor and housemaster. Within these categories important concepts such as communication, clear role definition and personal contact were common threads. St John's College has a system of house division in the school and so the findings and recommendations relate to this type of division of a school. The goals of the pastoral care management system were important as they determine the direction and commitment of the school to pastoral care. The aims and organisation of the houses would determine the successful division of the school into smaller parts thus ensuring continued personal contact between student and teacher. The tutor/house period is critical to the success of the contact between student and tutor and this time forms the corner stone of the schools commitment to pastoral care. Finally the role of the house tutor and housemaster is important to the entire management system as they are the people who have to implement the system. If their role is not clearly defined and carried out in a satisfactory manner then the entire pastoral care system will be doomed to failure. The study has highlighted these areas as those which, if well managed, can lead to a successful pastoral care management system thus, overcoming the invisible child.